The Ohio Valley Conference Championship is something the Eastern men’s and women’s tennis teams have had on their calendar since the beginning of the tennis season.

Both teams will venture to Nashville, Tenn., April 24-27 in an attempt to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

“Everything up to this point has been basically preseason,” second-year coach Brian Holzgrafe said. “From this point on, there are no excuses. We have to go out and make it happen.”

The Panther men’s and women’s OVC record is a combined 10-3. The Eastern men currently have a record of 5-1 in conference play, with their sole loss at the hands of the No. 3 ranked team in the OVC and the defending OVC champion Murray State Racers.

The Panther men were awarded the third seed and will play Tennessee-Martin in the first round of OVC tournament.

Senior No. 1 men’s player C.J. Weber said the team has a more positive attitude this season than in year’s past.

“Compared to past years, our team is so much more on fire for this conference tournament than in the past,” Weber said. “In past seasons, we would be content with finishing in the top three. This season, we feel if everyone plays up to their ability that we can win the tournament.”

The Eastern men’s team is entering the tournament with seven wins out its last eight contests.

During those eight matches, the Panthers defeated five conference opponents including Tennessee State, Tennessee Martin, Austin Peay, Morehead State, and their recent 4-2 victory against Eastern Kentucky.

The men’s record against the conference may be 5-1, but there is still one opponent it has not faced in the OVC: current No. 1 ranked team Tennessee Tech (11-9).

“That will be interesting to see how we measure up against (Tennessee Tech) because we haven’t played them,” Weber said. “What we’ve seen is that our scores have matched up. Based on statistics, we can play them as a team.”

Eastern men’s team is going into the tournament with a relatively healthy team.

Weber experienced tennis elbow and No. 3 player Lukasz Pluta, who sustained an injury in the Murray State match April 5.

“Right now there are a couple of guys on the team with some nagging injuries,” said Weber. “However, it is nothing that is going to take away from their ability. I don’t see that being much of a factor.”

The Eastern women’s team’s first match in the tournament will be against Eastern Kentucky.

The No. 4 seeded Panther women (12-5, 5-2) managed to defeat the Colonels at home 4-3 in singles matches on their regular season finale April 18.

“We need to handle this team like we did last weekend,” Holzgrafe said. “We are dangerous when they come together and fight the way we are capable of fighting.”

The Eastern women began their season on fire, winning eight of the first 11 matches. The Panthers’ early success was slowed down by injury to their No. 1 player Jana Matouskova, who has struggled with an assortment of injuries including problems with her Achilles tendon, ankle and hip.

Despite the difficulties with injuries, the Panthers will have their No. 1 player to make the run for the tournament. The injuries to Matouskova didn’t prevent the Eastern women from winning four of their last five contests.

“As a team, we are doing really well,” sophomore No. 3 player Sarah Freeman said. “When (Jana) was struggling with injuries, we’ve been able to work around it.

The Panthers’ 5-2 overall record in the conference could be a momentum factor they are looking for.

“Anytime you have a good record, you are going to be confident,” Freeman said. “The good thing about it is you go with vegeance and try to redeem. If you are on top, everyone expects you to win. We don’t have anything to lose.”

The Panthers’ two conference losses have come against the No. 2 OVC team and defending conference champion Murray State and No. 5 ranked Morehead State.

“Both teams are going to take it match by match,” Holzgrafe said. “This year, obviously we see things as we have more potential than in the past. We don’t want to overlook anything here. The first round is going to be a battle for both teams.”